Huskies Rally From 17 Down to Tie, But Lose to Colorado

Call it a turkey hangover. A drumstick disorder. Overstuffed on stuffing,

Whatever it was, the University of Washington basketball team fell behind by 17 points at halftime, rushed back to tie the game with 11 minutes left, but went home with a deflating post-Thanksgiving loss to Colorado Buffaloes 81-68 in the Acrisure Holiday Classic.

For a half in Palm Desert, California, the Huskies (5-2) on Friday had nothing to offer their former Pac-12 basketball compatriot and now unbeaten Big 12 entry (7-0). To their credit, they made a game out of it.

Momentarily, Danny Sprinkle's team showed some life by chipping away at a 47-30 halftime deficit to knot the game at 52 on freshman Jasir Rencher's 3-pointer. Yet Colorado regrouped and pulled away in the final six minutes.

"You can't play [just] 32 minutes, or you can't play 20 minutes, or you're going to get your butt kicked if you do," Sprinkle said.

With 6-foot-11 freshman Hannes Steinbach sitting out his third consecutive game, Sprinkle's nearly all-guard lineup often couldn't hang with a taller Buffaloes team that relies on 7-foot Bangot Dak and 6-foot-11 Sebastian Rancik.

The Huskies even hit Dak in the mouth in a backboard exchange and chipped his tooth in the first half, but he took a quick detour to the locker to have it checked out, came back and played on.

The Huskies had no such bounce-back in them over the first 20 minutes.

They fell behind 7-0 and then by double digits just six minutes into the game and watched that deficit gradually swell to 17 by halftime. They shot just 28.1 perent (9 for 32) over that time.

Dak was a problem for them, finishing with a double-double, 15 and 11 rebounds, and was tournament most valuable player. He helped his team enjoy an overall 42-33 rebounding advantage.

Quimari Peterson topped the UW in scoring with 18 while Desmond Claude added 14.

Notably Claude, the USC transfer, struggled throughout his time back in Southern California. He shot 1-for-9 in the opening-game win over Nevada and went 1-for-10 against Colorado before finishing 6-for-18 from the floor against the Buffaloes.

The Huskies started out badly, making only 4 of their first 20 shots, and couldn't get comfortable against the bigger team.

Sprinkle did everything he could to change his team's opening malaise. He drew a first-half technical foul. He put his guys into a zone. He implored the Huskies to increase their energy level, especially on defense, but nothing worked.

Coming out of halftime, the coach apparently got his message across. The UW finally got untracked and outscored the Buffaloes 7-0 to build some momentum. All of a sudden, Colorado looked vulnerable.

"If we played together, we made the right basketball play," Sprinkle said.

With 12:57 left, Peterson hit a 3-pointer to pull the Huskies within 51-49, the closest they'd been since the game's opening possession, and force Colorado to call a timeout.

Following an Isaiah Johnson free throw for the Buffaloes, Rencher dropped in a 3-pointer from the top of the key -- the first in his college career -- and the game was tied at 52, for the first time since it started, capping a 22-5 run.

However, the UW couldn't get over the hump and take the lead, let alone tie the game again.

Colorado regained the upper hand when when Felix Kossaras responded with his own 3-pointer and Bangot grabbed a missed shot and slammed it through and the lead went back up to 57-52.

The UW pulled within 57-55 on another Peterson 3-pointer with 9:23 remaining, but by now Sprinkle's guys had given it their best shot, and they dropped back for good.

The Huskies now have five days to see if they can get Steinbach healthy to face 18th-ranked UCLA (5-2) in their next outing, which comes on Wednesday with an 8 p.m. tip. They're a much different team with him in the lineup.

"We've got to correct this by Wednesday as a staff," Sprinkle said.

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